The Mystery of Mamo
The Mystery of Mamo (US) or The Secret of Mamo (International), originally released in Japan as simply Lupin III and now known there as Lupin III: Lupin vs. the Clone is a 1978 Japanese animated adventure film. It is the first Lupin III film, based on the manga series of the same name created by Monkey Punch, and was produced by TMS Entertainment, directed by Sōji Yoshikawa and written by Yoshikawa and cult pink film screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya. Synopsis The world’s most wanted master thief, Lupin the Third, is dead! Despite a coroner’s report, Interpol Inspector Zenigata is skeptical and discovers that Lupin is actually alive and well and stealing! But who had set up Lupin’s death and why? For now, questions are set aside, as Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon immediately embark to Egypt to pilfer a stone artifact from a pyramid, with Zenigata in hot pursuit. But Fujiko, lured by the promise of eternal youth and beauty by the sinister and enigmatic scientist known as Mamo, double-crosses Lupin and steals the stone. Her betrayal causes a rift between Lupin and his cohorts, causing the trio to split up, but eventually leads Lupin to Mamo’s hideaway, where he discovers the madman’s dark secret and a fiendish scheme that threatens the entire planet! Now, it’s up to Lupin to stop the insane Mamo — before he can complete his 10,000 year-old plans of world domination. Name Originally this film was known as Lupin III. This was the name used in Japan, JAL Flights, France and Italy. After the The Castle of Cagliostro was released, in Japan the film was renamed as Lupin III: Lupin vs Clone or Lupin vs the Clone. A video tape copy was obtained from Jun Hirabayashi, former representative of TMS to Fred Patten to gauge whether anime could be marketed to the US. It was then traded onto tapes among the US anime fan circle however they were uncomfortable using that name as it gave away an important plot point. Mark Merlino came up with the spoiler-free title The Mystery of Mamo http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/streamline-pictures-part-9/. When Streamline came to dub the movie due to unable to use the Toho dub, TMS had come up with The Secret of Mamo inspired by the fan nickname and wanted them to use that name. This became an issue whether a company used Mystery or Secret. Streamline stuck with the fan name due to alliteration and the fans already knew it as that name. Manga UK however used Secret of Mamo due to no fanbase and no previous release in the UK. Pioneer used The Secret of Mamo name and Discotek reverted back to The Mystery of Mamo. American based websites also generally use Mystery of Mamo. The Secret of Mamo name was kept in the UK with France and Mexico receiving a translated version of the name. In Italy it was renamed to La pietra della saggezza. Plot Inspector Zenigata investigates the execution of Arsene Lupin III, but discovers Lupin has used the dead body as a decoy. Lupin flees from the castle via hang glider. In an Egyptian pyramid, Lupin finds Philosopher's Stone with Daisuke Jigen, but they are discovered by Zenigata and the Egyptian police. Lupin escapes the pyramid corridors and Goemon Ishikawa XIII incapacitates the officers surrounding the pyramid. The three use Lupin's Mercedes-Benz SSK to flee from the pyramid. After Lupin delivers the stone to his lover Fujiko Mine, Fujiko turns on Lupin and steals the stone. Lupin listens in on Fujiko to find out who asked for the Stone, only to discover that the Stone was a fake. Dissatisfied that Lupin had given him a fake, the contractor dispatches two of his henchmen to kill the thief. After Lupin and his gang defeat the henchmen, Flinch destroys Lupin's car and his headquarters. Jigen and Goemon berate Lupin for being faithful to Fujiko until Lupin decides to leave Fujiko out. They travel toward the ocean to the desert where Lupin accidentally sets off one of Flinch's booby traps before the group finds a house stocked with food and water. A seriously wounded Fujiko comes for Lupin and alienates Jigen and Goemon in the process. Fujiko inadvertently drugs Lupin to sleep and they are both captured by Flinch in his plane. Jigen and Goemon travel to Spain and discover a clue of Lupin's whereabouts, reading "WATER". Jigen gets pursued by Agent Gordon. Surprised at first by Jigen's quick move to threaten him, Gordon manages to bring him and Goemon to Area 64 to be interviewed by Stuckey, an important government official from America. After listening to a tape of an interfered-with conversation between the secretary general and U.S. president Jimmy Carter, Stuckey asks for info on the man who broke into the conversation. Jigen hands Gordon the note and angers him by saying that if they knew what the note meant, they wouldn't be where they were. Stuckey decides that Jigen and Goemon knew nothing, releasing them for the sole purpose of using them to find the mystery man. The two know immediately because of spilled water, and the invisible ink is revealed to be "CARIB". Meanwhile, on a Caribbean island, Lupin manages to find the mystery man, who reveals himself to be a dwarf named Howard Lockewood who refers to himself as Mamo. He offers Lupin eternal life, but Lupin refuses, saying that all he wants is the Philosopher's Stone. He then manages to find it as Jigen and Goemon head for the Caribbean island. Fujiko plays with Lupin awhile, but they are soon chased by thugs led by Frenchy, Lupin having discovered what Mamo's staff was planning to do with the Stone. Lupin and Fujiko end up Mamo's lair, where he reveals that the island is inhabited by clones. After Mamo deems Lupin unworthy of eternal life, Fujiko refuses to abandon Lupin even after Mamo reveals to her his dirty secrets. When Mamo tries to kill him, Lupin is rescued by Jigen, who puts a bullet in Mamo's head, and Goemon. They and Fujiko then get the hell out of Dodge, but not before Goemon engages in a final confrontation against Frenchy. When Goemon learns that even his Zantetsuken couldn't penetrate Frenchy's armor unless it had the intensity of a laser, he instead proceeds to cut Frenchy's face, much to the latter's shock. As Frenchy drops dead into the waters, Zantetsuken is detipped, much to Goemon's sorrow. As Lupin and his gang leave the island, they are chased by Zenigata, who chooses the wrong boat to go after them in. Finding Zenigata on a beach, the Commissioner reveals that Zenigata has been removed from the Lupin case due to circumstances beyond their control. He encourages Zenigata to think of it as an opportunity to take a vacation, but Zenigata instead resigns from the police force and goes after Lupin on his own, deciding that the endgame will be in Colombia. Meanwhile, Lupin and his gang (sans Goemon, who decided to train harder) are thrust into a vision by Mamo after tasting coffee laced with sedatives. Mamo reveals his hand in the history of the world and puts the gang back where he had left them after rearranging the room a bit, as Lupin correctly deduces. When Mamo shows up to reclaim Fujiko, Lupin dares him to prove himself a God by performing some kind of miracle and not one of those Las Vegas-style parlor tricks. Mamo responds by setting off several charges to simulate an earthquake, which registers on the Richter scale and alerts Gordon and Starky to where Mamo is located. Lupin figures out what was behind that earthquake and sets off for the source, where he believes Mamo to be hiding. As Mamo convinces Fujiko to push a button to launch missiles, Lupin shows up as the snake to their Adam and Eve, revealing he rigged the missiles to blow up before they could launch. Frustrated, Mamo takes Fujiko with him to a rocket launching pad and tries fending Lupin off with lasers. Lupin uses the tip of Goemon's Zantetsuken to deflect the lasers onto Mamo and incinerate him, but not before Lupin learns from Mamo that he is the original Lupin and that it was the clone that swung in Transylvania. Lupin is sure that was the real Mamo until he discovers a chip hidden among the ashes. The rocket emerges, containing a brain that reveals itself to be the original Mamo. Lupin figures out that Mamo had controlled the clones resembling his old body right before the rocket launches into space as Mamo declares he is setting off into space and eventually plans to return to Earth as its one true God. Lupin and Fujiko escape the rocket's trajectory, but not before Lupin puts an explosive onto the rocket. The glass shatters, and Mamo's gigantic brain drifts toward the sun as Lupin reminds Mamo that time does everyone in and that he should be grateful Lupin put him to death when he did. Fujiko reveals that Zenigata had threatened her into luring his quarry for the catch, and Lupin is unable to convince Zenigata that he is a clone and that the real Lupin was the one that was hanged. Fujiko offers to help Lupin after they kiss, but Gordon launches his missiles on Mamo's Colombian base, and Jigen picks up Fujiko in a plane while Zenigata and Lupin escape together on foot. Release Info The Japanese release was handled by Toho, who was also responsible for the initial English dub, also known as the JAL dub or the "HK dub" produced in 1978, and was shown on JAL Airline flights. The English dub was also released to several markets in Europe, and was also screened at least once theatrically in the United States. Parts of the dub was used in the Cliff Hanger game. The second English dub was handled by Streamline Pictures and renamed to The Mystery of Mamo, was released to home video by Orion Home Video in late April 1995 and later released on DVD by Image Entertainment in 1998. The third English dub was created due to copyright reasons and released on home video in the UK by Manga Entertainment, Ltd. in 1996 and renamed Secret of Mamo. The fourth dub was created by Fuse Entertainment and released to DVD by Pioneer Entertainment (now Geneon Universal Entertainment) in 2003 as The Secret of Mamo. This release was duplicated for Madman Entertainment's DVD release for Australia and New Zealand, and for Manga Entertainment's DVD release for the UK. In 2012, TMS Entertainment began streaming the Geneon dub of the movie on Hulu. In 2013, Discotek Media released The Mystery of Mamo on DVD in the US on February 26, 2013 with all four English dubs, including a reconstruction of the 1978 English dub. Japan *'Betamax' (Toho) confirming *'Laserdisc' (TLL2005, Toho) *'Laserdisc' (TLL2277, Toho) *'VHS' (Toho) *'DVD' October 24, 2003 (TDV2736D, Toho) *'DVD' from HD (VAP) *'Blu-ray' December, 2008 (VAP) *'4K Ultra HD' March 20, 2019 Lupin the Third: Lupin VS Clone (VAP) USA *'VHS' April 1995 (Orion Home Video) dub *'DVD' April 21, 1998 (Image Entertainment) dub *'DVD' July 29, 2003 (Geneon) *'DVD' February 26, 2013 (Discotek Media) Italy *'VHS' 1993 (YV-13L, Yamato Video) 2000 dub *'VHS' 1993 (Eden Video) is from either Hemingway Papers or Napoleon's Dictionary and Albatross Wings of Death, unknown dub *'VHS' 1993 Cartoons Collection N. 1 (A&S) is custom with Green Jacket Lupin swinging by the pyramids of Egypt *'DVD' 2005 Lupin the 3rd Special DVD Collection (2LUP02, DeAGOSTINI/Yamato Video) *'DVD' February 1, 2006 (Yamato Video) *'DVD' 2009 Lupin the 3rd Movie DVD Collection (1LM19, DeAGOSTINI/Yamato Video) *'DVD' January 19, 2010 (Yamato Video) theatrical and LOGICA 2000 dubs *'DVD' December 23, 2011 Lupin III Film Collection (N.9, Yamato Video/La Gazzetta dello Sport) *'DVD' November 6, 2012 Lupin the Third: Red Box (Yamato Video) Mystery of Mamo, Castle of Cagliostro and Sweet Lost Night *'Blu-ray' February 21, 2013 (Yamato Video) dub United Kingdom *'VHS' 8th July 1996 Secret of Mamo (MANV-1148, Manga) *'DVD' 4th August 2008 (MANG5075, Manga) dub *'DVD' The Manga Force Collection (Manga) dub *'VOD' (Netflix) TBA Lupin the Third: The Secret of Mamo (TMS Paris, Japanese with English subtitles) BBFC rating France This is notable for being one of the first VHS and home release of the Lupin series to be ever released. *'VHS' 1981 Lupin III (Super Video) *'VHS' 1987 Lupin III (Super Video, Blue VHS) *'DVD' January 1, 2005 Edgar de la Cambriole: Le Secret de Mamo (IDP) Sweden *'VHS' Lupin III – den otrolige (Walthers Video) known version of the complete Toho English dub Mexico *'DVD' Lupin III: El Secreto de Mamo (Zima, Japanese with Spanish subtitles) Cast Japanese * Lupin III: Yasuo Yamada * Howard Lockewood (Mamo): Kō Nishimura * Fujiko Mine: Eiko Masuyama * Daisuke Jigen: Kiyoshi Kobayashi * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Makio Inoue * Inspector Koichi Zenigata: Gorō Naya * Heinrich "Stuckey" Gissinger: Tōru Ōhira * Special Agent Gordon: Hidekatsu Shibata * Police Commissioner: Kōsei Tomita * Flinch: Shōzō Iizuka * Scientist: Ichirō Murakoshi * Premier: Shunsuke Shima * Officer: Yūji Mikimoto * Egyptian Police Chief: Haruo Minami * President Jimmy Carter: Fujio Akatsuka * Chief Secretary: Ikki Kajiwara English Cast Edition Frontier Enterprises dub The below cast is incomplete due to Frontier Enterprises not documenting its English dubbing work; those cast members marked with an asterisk are to be treated as speculation based on voice recognition until further notice. * Lupin III: Tom ClarkTom Clark | Foreign narrator catalog (in Japanese). Retrieved February 3, 2018. * Foward Fughes (Mamaux): Mike Worman* * Margo: Patricia Kobayashi* * Dan Dunn: Cliff Harrington * Samurai: William Ross * Detective Ed Scott: Gregory Starr * Special Agent Gordon: Don Knode* * Police Commissioner: William Ross* * Thug Guard: Gregory Starr* * President Jimmy Carter: John Armstrong* Streamline Pictures dub * Lupin III: Bob Bergen * Haward Lockewood (Mamo): Robert Axelrod * Fujiko Mine: Edie Mirman * Daisuke Jigen: Steve Bulen * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Kirk Thornton * Detective Zenigata: David Povall * Heinrich Gissinger: Steve Kramer * Special Agent Gordon: Michael Forest * Police Commissioner: Jeff Winkless * Egyptian Police Chief: Steve Kramer * President Bill Clinton: Steve Kramer * Boris (Chief Secretary): Steve Kramer Manga Entertainment, Ltd. dub * Wolf the Third: William Dufris * Howard Lockewood (Mamo): Allan Wenger * Fujiko Mine: Toni Barry * Daisuke Jigen: Eric Meyers * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Garrick Hagon * Inspector Koichi Zenigata: Sean Barrett * Heinrich "Stuckey" Gissinger: John Baddeley * Special Agent Gordon: William Roberts * Police commissioner: John Baddeley * Egyptian police chief: John Baddeley * President: Sean Barrett * Chief Secretary: William Roberts Geneon Entertainment dub * Arsène Lupin III: Tony Oliver * Howard Lockewood (Mamo): Paul St. Peter * Fujiko Mine: Michelle Ruff * Daisuke Jigen: Richard Epcar * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Lex Lang * Inspector Koichi Zenigata: Dan Lorge * Heinrich "Starky" Gissinger: Osgood W. Glick * Special Agent Gordon: Michael McConnohie * Police commissioner: Richard Cansino * Flinch: Bob Pappenbrook * Scientist: Richard Cansino * Premier: Richard Cansino * Egyptian police chief: Richard Cansino * President George W. Bush: Richard Cansino * Premier (Chief Secretary): Richard Cansino Italian Cast Edition CINITALIA EDIZIONI dub This was dubbed in 1979, produced by Orange / Harmony Film at Cinitalia edizioni on the occasion of the release in Italian cinemas, with the title Lupin III. This dub was not available on home video until it was recovered for an exhibition in Milan and has been screened in a cinema once March 21, 2009, and the audio track was recovered and digitized for the current release on DVD and Blu-ray by Yamato Video. The voice of Mamo was also the voice of Jigen in the original 1979 Italian dub of Lupin the Third Part I. * Lupin III: Roberto Del Giudice * Foward Fughes (Mamo): Germano Longo * Fujiko Mine: Piera Vidale * Daisuke Jigen: Sandro Pellegrini * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Vittorio Guerrieri * Inspector Zenigata: Enzo Consoli * Special Agent Gordon: Vittorio Di Prima MI.TO Film dub This was dubbed in 1986, produced by MI.TO Film for Mediaset on the occasion of the first television broadcast, with the title La pietra della saggezza. * Lupin III: Roberto Del Giudice * Foward Fuse (Mamo): Vittorio Di Prima * Fujiko Mine: Alessandra Korompay * Daisuke Jigen: Sandro Pellegrini * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Vittorio Guerrieri * Inspector Zenigata: Enzo Consoli * Special Agent Gordon: Mimmo Maugeri LOGICA 2000 dub NOTE: This was dubbed in 1990, produced by Yamato Video and Logica 2000 for the home video version on VHS, with the title La pietra della saggezza. It used a completely different cast compared to the animated series. * Lupin III: Giorgio Melazzi * Foward Fuse (Mamo): Riccardo Peroni * Fujiko Mine: Roberta Gallina Laurenti * Daisuke Jigen: Flavio Arras * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Unknown * Inspector Zenigata: Maurizio Scattorin * Special Agent Gordon: Ivo De Palma '' [2] Roma dub This was dubbed in 2007 that used the English Geneon dub as a base with its liberties to its script. Unlike the other dubs, this was not released on home video and only aired between 7th to the 12th August split into four parts on Italia 1. * '''Lupin III': Roberto Del Giudice * Howard Lockewood (Mamo): Ambrogio Colombo * Fujiko Mine: Alessandra Korompay * Daisuke Jigen: Sandro Pellegrini * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Antonio Palumbo * Inspector Zenigata: Rodolfo Bianchi * Special Agent Gordon: Saverio Indrio Censorship English *In the English Geneon dub due to licensing reasons, Lupin Ondo was replaced by Theme from Lupin III '79 for the credits. There is also a scene cut where someone reads a comic book that contains an advert that features the Justice League as well as Lupin, this affected the Geneon US release as well as the Manga UK DVD. This scene was restored on the Discotek DVD as well as streaming services that featured the dub. Trivia *The US Streamline VHS release uses a painting done by Monkey Punch as its cover that was used that Fred Patten bought it himself. http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/streamline-pictures-part-9/ *Mamo's voice actor, Ko Nishimura performed his role in a deep masculine voice to contrast with Mamo's miniature appearance. This was a deliberate decision made to astonish the audience, who would hear only Mamo's voice in the first part of the film and would only later see him appear in person. This effect was replicated by voice actor Robert Axelrod in the English Streamline dub. *Mamo was meant to be Mameux however it was translated from French to Japanese resulting in that name. While TMS wanted to correct the name, the fandom was already used to Mamo and was kept. The Italian dubs use Mamoo. *Production on the film took fifteen months. *A total of 62,000 cell sheets were used. *There were 575 pages of storyboard. *There were 196 character design sheets for this movie. *There were 1,315 people in the staff. *This was Telecom Animation Film's first credited project however the entire animating team of 40 animators were considered useless frustrating Yasuo Otsuka as well as Yuzo Aoki and Yoshio Kabashima from TMS. Outside of Yasuo Otsuka they were uncredited, six were then chosen to animate The Skateboard Murder Mystery, five of them left due to the poor work and Yasuo Otsuka had to reanimate as much as he could for the episode. http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php/lupin-iii-part-2-credits *Jigen fires his gun only three times in this film. *This is Monkey Punch's favorite Lupin movie. *Holds the record for being the only Lupin III anime to be dubbed more times than any other Lupin related anime in both English and Italian. *This was the first Lupin III anime to ever be dubbed into English and was until late 1995, the only English use of the Lupin III name due to copyright reasons. Yet every other character was renamed to make it more accessible to international audiences. Jigen became Dan Dunn, Fujiko became Margo, Zenigata became Ed Scott and Goemon was simply Samurai. These names also made it to the original French dub that in turn, Margot was used in the Italian dub of Lupin the Third Part II. Dan Dunn and Samurai were later used in the English subtitled print of The Castle of Cagliostro with Ed Scott became Ed Cott by mistake and Margo became Rosalie. *Due to copyright reasons in the UK regarding the Lupin name, Manga had to do its own dub instead of using the Streamline Pictures dub for its VHS release. *Originally the opening of the movie was to have Zenigata believing that Lupin died in a shipwreck, but was ultimately change to him believing that Lupin got hang at the gallows. There is leftover footage from the trailer showing segments of the lost opening and one of the mooks shows some of the storyboards. *This was the last time where Zenigata's full name was Inspector Heiji Zenigata VII. In his later anime appearances it was established that his full name was Inspector Koichi Zenigata rather than sharing the same name as his ancestor. *This was the only time that Zenigata mentioned that he had a daughter called Toshiko, this was retconned by the 100th episode of Lupin the Third Part II. *The "Tele-Pach" orange rock candies that Lupin was seen eating are an actual product similar to Pop Rocks. Yasuo Yamada was the announcer for the Tele-Pach TV commercials during the 70's. *18,000 reference photos were used for background and mechanical items. *218 colors were used in this movie. References [2]https://www.antoniogenna.net/doppiaggio/film1/lupin3-pietrasagg.htm Category:Red Jacket Era Category:Films